Imaging device, method of recording location information, and computer program product

ABSTRACT

A shooting-location acquiring unit acquires a current location, and stores acquired current location as a shooting location. A distance acquiring unit acquires a distance between a subject and the current location, and stores acquired distance as an imaging subject distance. An orientation acquiring unit acquires an orientation of the subject, and stores acquired orientation as an imaging subject orientation. A subject-location calculating unit calculates an imaging subject location, based on the shooting location, the imaging subject distance, and the imaging subject orientation. An information recording unit records an image with calculated imaging subject location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present document incorporates by reference the entire contents ofJapanese priority document, 2006-14262 filed in Japan on Jan. 23, 2006and 2006-325596 filed in Japan on Dec. 1, 2006.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure relates to an imaging device that can acquire a shootinglocation, a distance, a direction, and a high-angle up to a subject atthe time of shooting an image, and a method and a program for recordinglocation information.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, use of a geographical information system (GIS), used foracquiring location information, is widening along with the prevalence ofportable global positioning system (GPS) receivers. The GIS is used forvarious purposes, for example, survey of fire disasters, real estate,road repairs, and the likes, and the demand is predicted to grow in thefuture.

The same system is also useful in a digital camera, for example,shooting an image of a fire disaster site with the digital camera helpsin writing a report related to the disaster at a later stage, because,map data acquired from the GIS during the survey of the fire disastersite can be associated with the image. Thus, there is a need toestablish a relation between the image taken by the digital camera andthe location information acquired from the GIS.

In response to such a need, a technology relating to the digital camera,connected to a GPS receiver, is published in Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2004-357343. The location information, received from theGPS receiver, is inputted into the digital camera, and is included in aheader portion of the image, taken by the digital camera.

According to a conventional technique the location information of theimage is recorded in the same image file and that improves management ofthe image, however, depending on the condition of a place it is notpossible to get closer to a subject. Thus, when the place of taking theimage and the imaging subject are distant from each other, it is notpossible to capture exact location information of the subject.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In an aspect of this disclosure, there is provided an imaging devicethat includes a storing unit configured to store therein information; ashooting-location acquiring unit that acquires a current location of theimaging device from a location detecting device that detects the currentlocation; and stores acquired current location in the storing unit as ashooting location; a distance acquiring unit that acquires a distancebetween a subject and the current location from a distance measuringunit that measures the distance, and stores acquired distance in thestoring unit as an imaging subject distance; an orientation acquiringunit that acquires an orientation of the subject with respect to thecurrent location as a reference from an orientation measuring devicethat measures the orientation, and stores acquired orientation in thestoring unit as an imaging subject orientation; a subject-locationcalculating unit that calculates an imaging subject location that is alocation of the imaging subject, based on the shooting location, theimaging subject distance, and the imaging subject orientation; and aninformation recording unit that records a shot image with calculatedimaging subject location.

In another aspect, there is provided a method of recording locationinformation that includes acquiring a current location of an imagingdevice from a location detecting device that detects the currentlocation; storing acquired current location in a storing unit as ashooting location; acquiring a distance between a subject and thecurrent location from a distance measuring unit that measures thedistance; storing acquired distance in the storing unit as an imagingsubject distance; acquiring an orientation of the subject with respectto the current location as a reference from an orientation measuringdevice that measures the orientation; storing acquired orientation inthe storing unit as an imaging subject orientation; calculating animaging subject location that is a location of the imaging subject,based on the shooting location, the imaging subject distance, and theimaging subject orientation; and recording a shot image with calculatedimaging subject location.

In another aspect, there is provided a computer program product thatincludes a computer usable medium having computer readable program codesembodied in the medium that when executed cause a computer to executeacquiring a current location of an imaging device from a locationdetecting device that detects the current location; storing acquiredcurrent location in a storing unit as a shooting location; acquiring adistance between a subject and the current location from a distancemeasuring unit that measures the distance; storing acquired distance inthe storing unit as an imaging subject distance; acquiring anorientation of the subject with respect to the current location as areference from an orientation measuring device that measures theorientation; storing acquired orientation in the storing unit as animaging subject orientation; calculating an imaging subject locationthat is a location of the imaging subject, based on the shootinglocation, the imaging subject distance, and the imaging subjectorientation; and recording a shot image with calculated imaging subjectlocation.

The above and other aspects, features, advantages and technical andindustrial significance will be better understood by reading thefollowing detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, when considered in connection with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic for explaining a configuration of an imageprocessing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of a digitalcamera according to the present embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a digital-camera function unit;

FIG. 4 is a schematic for explaining a data structure of a shot image;

FIG. 5 is a schematic for explaining an example of a setup screen forspecifying a usage of a function of acquiring location information froma GPS and measuring functions of various equipments;

FIG. 6 is a schematic for explaining an example of a setup screen forinputting a setting of a recording mode;

FIG. 7 is a schematic for explaining a positional relationship between auser (a photographer) and an imaging subject;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process by the digital camera according tothe present embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a distance correction process;

FIG. 10 is a schematic for explaining a method of calculating acorrection distance;

FIG. 11 is a schematic for explaining an example of an error screen;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an imaging-subject-location calculatingprocess;

FIG. 13 is a schematic for explaining a method of calculating theimaging subject location;

FIG. 14 is a schematic for explaining an example of shot image dataincluding the imaging subject location displayed on an operationdisplaying unit; and

FIG. 15 is a schematic for explaining an example of the image data ofthe shot image created by the present embodiment, displayed using a mapdisplay application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will beexplained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.Although the present invention has been described with respect to aspecific embodiment of the imaging device, that is, a digital camera,the application of the present invention is not necessarily limited tothe digital camera, and can be applied to other imaging devices, forexample, a portable terminal and the likes.

FIG. 1 is a schematic for explaining a configuration of an imageprocessing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.The image processing system includes a digital camera 1, a GPS receiver2, an electronic compass 3, a high-angle gauge 4, and a range finder 5.The GPS receiver 2, the electronic compass 3, the high-angle gauge 4,and the range finder 5 use a wireless transmission equipment compatiblewith the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standards as a communicationequipment.

The GPS receiver 2 uses a GPS satellite 6, used for acquiring locationinformation, for detecting current location, and includes the wirelesstransmission equipment compatible with the Bluetooth (registeredtrademark) standards for transmitting detected location information tothe digital camera 1.

The electronic compass 3 is for finding out direction of an imagingsubject 7 from a shooting location. The high-angle gauge 4 is formeasuring a high-angle formed between the shooting location and theimaging subject 7. The electronic compass 3, the high-angle gauge 4, andthe range finder 5 send the resultant measurements to the digital camera1 through the wireless transmission equipment compatible with Bluetooth(registered trademark) standards.

As shown in FIG. 1 according to the present embodiment, a person otherthan a person who is holding the digital camera 1 holds the range finder5 in the vicinity, and in the vicinity of the person holding the rangefinder 5 are placed the high-angle gauge 4, the electronic compass 3,and the GPS receiver 2. The usage is not limited to the particularformation. It is possible for one person to hold the digital camera 1and the range finder 5 as well, and place the high-angle gauge 4, theelectronic compass 3, and the GPS receiver 2 in the vicinity.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a hardware configuration of the digitalcamera 1 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, thedigital camera 1 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a readonly memory (ROM) 12, a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM)13, a flash memory 14, a Bluetooth (registered trademark) circuit 15, anoperation displaying unit 16, and a digital-camera function unit 17.

The CPU 11 controls the digital camera 1. The ROM 12 stores programsthat can execute processes included according to the present embodiment.The flash memory 14 is a storing medium that stores information relatedto settings of the digital camera 1, information related to settings ofuse modes, and image data. The Bluetooth (registered trademark) circuit15 is a communication circuit that makes wireless transmission possiblethrough a communication method, which is compatible with the Bluetooth(registered trademark) standards, and is used as a communication devicefor acquiring location information from the GPS receiver 2. Theoperation displaying unit 16 is an interface that includes a liquidcrystal display, a key button, a shutter button, and a mode dial, andcan display the image or every type of display screen, and is able tooperate according to input from a user. The digital-camera function unit17 performs imaging function and location information recordingfunction.

The SDRAM 13 is a storing medium, which stores a shooting location, animaging subject distance, an imaging subject orientation an imagingsubject high-angle, an imaging subject location. The information storedin the SDRAM 13 is acquired via the Bluetooth (registered trademark)circuit 15.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the digital-camera function unit17. As shown in FIG. 3, the digital-camera function unit 17 includes aninformation acquiring unit 301, a distance correcting unit 302, animaging-subject-location calculating unit 303, an information recordingunit 304, a mode control unit 305, an input control unit 306, and adisplay control unit 307.

The information acquiring unit 301 is a processing unit that acquirescurrent shooting location from the GPS receiver 2 via the Bluetooth(registered trademark) circuit 15, and stores acquired location in theSDRAM 13, thus, working as a shooting-location acquiring unit; works asa distance acquiring unit by acquiring from the range finder 5 thedistance between the shooting location and the imaging subject via theBluetooth (registered trademark) circuit 15, and saving the same in tothe SDRAM 13 as an imaging subject distance; works as a orientationacquiring unit by acquiring direction of the imaging subject from theelectronic compass 3 via the Bluetooth (registered trademark) circuit15, taking the shooting location as the basis of finding direction, andstores the same in the SDRAM 13 as an imaging subject orientation.

Further, the information acquiring unit 301 acquires a high-anglebetween the shooting location and the imaging subject from thehigh-angle gauge 4 via the Bluetooth (registered trademark) circuit 15,stores the same in the SDRAM 13 as an imaging subject high-angle, thus,working as a high-angle acquiring unit.

The distance correcting unit 302 is a processing unit that calculates ahorizontal distance from the imaging subject distance and the imagingsubject high-angle, stored in the SDRAM 13, to the imaging subject, asthe correction distance. Specifically, the distance correcting unit 302assesses whether all information about imaging subject distances andimaging subject high-angles are stored in the SDRAM 13 or not, in otherwords, whether all information about imaging subject distances andimaging subject high-angles are acquired or not, and if all are stored,the correction distance is calculated accordingly.

The imaging-subject-location calculating unit 303 is a processing unitthat calculates the imaging subject location from the shooting location,the imaging subject distance, and the imaging subject orientation thatis stored in the SDRAM 13. In case a recording mode is set to subjectcalculation mode, the imaging-subject-location calculating unit 303assesses whether all information about shooting locations, imagingsubject orientations, and imaging subject distances are stored in theSDRAM 13 or not, in other words, whether all information about shootinglocations, imaging subject orientations, and imaging subject distancesare acquired or not, and incase all are stored in the SDRAM 13,calculates the imaging subject location.

Further, in case the correction distance is calculated by the distancecorrecting unit 302, the imaging-subject-location calculating unit 303takes the correction distance as the imaging subject distance andcalculates the imaging subject location. On the other hand, in case therecording mode is set to no subject calculation mode, theimaging-subject-location calculating unit 303 does not calculate theimaging subject location.

Following is an explanation about recording modes. The recording modesare modes that denote whether the imaging subject location, which is acorrect location information about the imaging subject, is to becalculated. The subject calculation mode is a mode that calculates theimaging subject location at the time of taking the image, and a nocalculation mode is a mode that does not calculate the imaging subjectlocation at the time of taking the image, however, records resultantmeasurements only on to a header portion of image data. The recordingmode is set up to any one of the modes on a set-up screen of the digitalcamera, beforehand, by the user, and the set up mode is stored in theflash memory 14 as setting information. The imaging-subject-locationcalculating unit 303 refers to contents of the setting informationstored in the flash memory 14, and assesses whether the recording modeis set to the subject calculation mode or the no subject calculationmode.

The mode control unit 305 is a processing unit that stores the recordingmode, selected by the user, in the flash memory 14 as the settinginformation, and executes change of recording mode.

The information recording unit 304 is a processing unit that records theimaging subject location calculated by the imaging-subject-locationcalculating unit 303, on to an exchangeable image file format (Exif)header portion of image data. Further, the information recording unit304 records the shooting location, the imaging subject distance, theimaging subject orientation, and the imaging subject high-angle on tothe Exif header portion of the image data. The information recordingunit 304 stores in the flash memory 14, the image data, such as theimaging subject location, the shooting location, the imaging subjectdistance, the imaging subject orientation, and the imaging subject anglerecorded on to the Exif header portion. Thus, the image is stored in theflash memory 14 along with the imaging subject location, the shootinglocation, the imaging subject distance, the imaging subject orientation,and the imaging subject angle.

FIG. 4 is a schematic for explaining image data that includes the Exifheader portion and the image. The Exif header portion is headerinformation complying with an Exif format. The Exif header portionincludes a GPS area that is formed of a predefined field, and a specificarea that is formed of a field that can be used freely by the user andby a third vendor.

In case of the subject calculation mode, a coordinate of the imagingsubject location, calculated in the imaging subject location calculationunit 303, is recorded in a field of longitude/latitude of the GPS areain the Exif header portion, and in case of the no subject calculationmode an image coordinate, acquired by the information acquiring unit 301and stored in the SDRAM 13, is recorded in the field oflongitude/latitude of the GPS area in the Exif header portion.

The imaging subject distance, acquired by the information acquiring unit301 and stored in the SDRAM 13, is recorded in a field of subjectdistance of the GPS area in the Exif header portion and the imagingsubject orientation, acquired by the information acquiring unit 301 andstored in the SDRAM 13, is recorded in a field of subject orientation ofthe GPS area in the Exif header portion.

Further, the imaging subject high-angle, acquired by the informationacquiring unit 301 and stored in the SDRAM 13, is recorded in ahigh-angle field of the specific area in the Exif header portion.

Referring back to FIG. 3, when the subject calculation mode is stored asthe setting mode in the flash memory 14, the display control unit 307displays the shooting location, the imaging subject distance, theimaging subject orientation, and the imaging subject angle in theoperation displaying unit 16. When any one of the following, that is,the shooting location, the imaging subject orientation, and the imagingsubject distance, is not stored in the flash memory 14 at the time ofcalculating the imaging subject location, the display control unit 307displays a message of non-availability of necessary information, and amessage of conducive to selecting the recording mode is displayed on theoperation displaying unit 16.

Further, when either of the imaging subject distance or the imagingsubject angle is not stored in the flash memory 14 at the time ofcalculating a distance correction, the display control unit 307 displaysa message of non-availability of necessary information and a message ofconducive to selecting the recording mode is displayed on the operationdisplaying unit 16. Moreover, the display control unit 307 displaysvarious types of screens on the operation displaying unit 16.

The input control unit 306 is a processing unit that receives set-upscreens displayed on the operation displaying unit 16 by the user andselection of various screens done by the user. For example, the inputcontrol unit 306 receives selection of either the subject calculationmode or the no subject calculation mode as the recording mode from theset-up screen.

Following is an explanation regarding a possibility of an input of theset-up screen such as a set-up screen displayed by the display controlunit 307.

FIG. 5 is a schematic for explaining an example of a setup screen forspecifying a usage of a function of acquiring location information fromthe GPS and measuring functions of various equipments. A setting of“acquisition/measuring” displayed on the set-up screen is forspecifying, whether a function of acquiring location information fromthe GPS and measuring functions of various equipments are used or not,and any one of the above can be selected by using “on”, or “off”. Suchspecification is stored in the flash memory 14 as the settinginformation indicative of whether a function of acquisition/measuring isused or not.

FIG. 6 is a schematic for explaining an example of a setup screen forinputting a setting of a recording mode. As shown in FIG. 6, when a modeselection is specified, selection of the subject calculation mode isdisplayed as “subject calculation” and selection of the no subjectcalculation mode is displayed as “no subject calculation”, and any oneof the two can be specified. The mode selected here is stored in theflash memory 14 as the setting information.

FIG. 7 is a schematic for explaining a positional relationship between auser (a photographer) and an imaging subject. A photographer 31 isattempting to take the image of the imaging subject, i.e., a subjectimaging point 32; however, due to an obstacle 33 it is not possible toget closer to the imaging subject. The photographer 31 wishes to recorda correct location of the imaging subject on to the image.

For this purpose, information about a correct imaging subject location34 is needed to be acquired by the digital camera 1 according to thepresent embodiment, that is, the location information of thephotographer 31, and resultant measurements of an imaging subjectdistance 35, the imaging subject orientation, and a high-angle 36, fromthe photographer 31 to the subject imaging point 32, are to be acquired.Next, using four of the resultant measurements, the digital camera 1calculates the correct imaging subject location 34, and records into aheader portion of the image data.

To reduce the burden on the digital camera 1 at the time of taking theimage, it is possible to just record four measurement results in theheader portion of the image at the time of taking the image, and theimage data can be transferred to a personal computer for calculating thecorrect imaging subject location 34.

Thus, it is possible to record the correct location of the subject orinformation that can be used to calculate the correct location of thesubject into the Exif header portion of the image data, even when thephotographer 31 is not able to get closer to an imaging point of theimaging subject.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a process by the digital camera 1 according tothe present embodiment. The photographer 31 turns on the power of thedigital camera 1 (step S1). After being started, the digital camera 1 isconnected to the GPS receiver 2, the electronic compass 3, thehigh-angle gauge 4, and the range finder 5 (step S2).

The digital camera 1 is connected to various measuring equipments, thatis, the GPS receiver 2, the electronic compass 3, the high-angle gauge4, and the range finder 5, through Bluetooth (registered trademark),thus the connection with the measuring equipments is started at step S2.When the connection is completed normally, the information acquiringunit 301 of the digital camera 1 starts acquiring resultant measurementinformation from each of the measuring equipments. The resultantmeasurement information is transmitted periodically from variousmeasuring equipments, for example after every second.

The imaging subject location calculation unit 303 of the digital camera1 confirms current recording mode by referring to the settinginformation in the flash memory 14 (step S3).

When the recording mode is set to the no subject calculation mode, thedistance correcting unit 302 of the digital camera 1 executes theprocess of distance correction (step S4), and theimaging-subject-location calculating unit 303 executes the process ofcalculating the location of the imaging subject by calculatingcorrection distance as the imaging subject distance (step S5). When theimaging subject high-angle acquired from the high-angle gauge 4 is zerodegree or when the imaging subject high-angle is not acquired from thehigh-angle gauge 4, it is possible to execute theimaging-subject-location calculating process without executing thedistance correction process.

At step S3, when the recording mode is set to the imaging subjectlocation no calculation mode, the information acquired from variousmeasuring equipments (the shooting location, the imaging subjectdistance, the imaging subject orientation, and the imaging subjecthigh-angle) is stored in the SDRAM 13 (step S6).

When the photographer 31 takes the image with the digital camera 1 (Yesat step S6), the information recording unit 304 records the informationstored in the SDRAM 13, (the shooting location, the imaging subjectdistance, the imaging subject orientation, and the imaging subjecthigh-angle), in the header portion of the image data, and stores theimage data in the flash memory (step S8). When the information acquiredfrom various measuring equipments, (the shooting location, the imagingsubject distance, the imaging subject orientation, and the imagingsubject high-angle), is not stored in the SDRAM 13, nothing is recordedin the header portion of the image data.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a distance correction process. The distancecorrecting unit 302 confirms, by referring to the SDRAM 13, whether allthe information required for calculating correction distance, (thesubject distance and the imaging subject high-angle), is acquired or not(step S11). When all required information is gathered (Yes at step S11),correction distance is calculated (step S12), and calculated correctiondistance is stored into the SDRAM 13 as the imaging subject distance(step S13).

The calculation of the correction distance is done according to thefollowing explanation. FIG. 10 is a schematic for explaining a method ofcalculating the correction distance. As shown in FIG. 10, when theimaging subject is a tall building, and the image is taken, with thedigital camera 1, of a higher floor in the building, and when the rangefinder 5 also acquires the distance from the same direction, an angle isformed between acquired subject distance and a horizontal distance froman imaging place to the imaging subject, the building. The photographer31 wants to record a coordinate of the imaging subject location in theheader portion of the image data. When a distance from the imaging placeup to the higher floor of the imaging subject is taken as the imagingsubject distance, it is not possible to get a correct coordinate of theimaging subject location, and it is necessary to use the horizontaldistance from the imaging place to the imaging subject, the building, asthe correction distance of the imaging subject distance. Therefore, thecorrection distance is calculated by the distance correcting unit 302,from the imaging subject distance acquired from the range finder 5.

As shown in FIG. 10, if the imaging subject distance 35 between thephotographer 31 and the subject imaging point 32 is d (the imagingsubject distance acquired from the range finder 5), and if thehigh-angle 36 acquired from the high-angle gauge 4 is σ, a correctiondistance 37 is calculated byCorrection distance=d×Cos σThe correction distance calculated in such manner is used as a correctedimaging subject distance in a following imaging-subject-locationcalculating process.

At step S11, when the information required for calculating thecorrection distance is not acquired (No at step S11), the displaycontrol unit 307 displays a message of insufficient information and anerror screen that displays possibility of a mode change choice on theoperation displaying unit 16 for notifying the user (step S14).

FIG. 11 is a schematic for explaining an example of an error screen. Asshown in FIG. 11, contents of the display of the error screen are,“information required for correction is not available”, and “choice ofmode selection”. When “yes” is selected, and input of mode change isreceived (Yes at step S15), the mode selection screen as shown in FIG.6, is displayed on the operation displaying unit 16 by the displaycontrol unit 307 (step S16), and the process reverts to step S2.

When “no” is selected and input of mode change is not received (No atstep S15), the process is ended.

At step S14, the display of non-availability of the information is notto be considered limited to the error screen in FIG. 10. For example,when the digital camera 1 acquires the imaging subject distance, and theimaging subject high-angle, it is possible to display the acquiredinformation on a monitor screen of the operation displaying unit 16, andwhen the information is not acquired nothing is displayed on the monitorscreen.

Following is an explanation regarding the imaging subject locationcalculation process of step S5. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of animaging-subject-location calculating process.

The imaging-subject-location calculating unit 303, at first, confirms byreferring to the SDRAM 13, whether all the information required forcalculating the subject location, (the shooting location, the imagingsubject distance, and the imaging subject orientation), is acquired ornot (step S21). When the required information is gathered (Yes at stepS21), the imaging subject location is calculated (step S22), andcalculated imaging subject location is stored in the SDRAM 13 (stepS23).

FIG. 13 is a schematic for explaining a method of calculating theimaging subject location.

As shown in FIG. 13, if an imaging subject distance (the correctiondistance) 41 between the photographer (imaging point) 31 and the subjectimaging point 32 after correction is d, a direction angle 42 is α, thenthe longitude and latitude value of the location of the subject imagingpoint 32, which is called the coordinate value, can be derived by addingd×Sin α, d×Cos α to each of longitude and latitude of the imaginglocation (the imaging location acquired from the GPS receiver 2) of thephotographer (the imaging point) 31. The calculated coordinate value ofthe imaging subject location is stored in the SDRAM 13 as the imagingsubject location.

At step S21, when the information required for calculating the imagingsubject location is not gathered (No at step S21), the display controlunit 307 displays the error screen on the operation displaying unit 16,a message that the information is not sufficient and an error screenthat displays possibility of input of a mode change choice for notifyingthe user (step S24).

When “yes” is selected from the error screen in FIG. 11, and mode changeinput is received (Yes at step S25), the mode selection screen isdisplayed on the operation displaying unit 16 by the display controlunit 307, as shown in FIG. 6, (step S26), and the process reverts tostep S2.

When “no” is selected from the error screen in FIG. 11, and mode changeinput is not received (No at step S25), the process is ended.

The method of displaying non availability of information at step S14 isnot considered to be limited to the error screen display in FIG. 10. Forexample, when the digital camera 1 is acquiring the shooting location,the imaging subject distance and the imaging subject orientation, theacquired information is displayed on the image monitor screen of theoperation displaying unit 16, and when the information is not acquirednothing is displayed on the monitor screen.

When calculation of the imaging subject location does not occur in thedigital camera 1 it is possible to calculate the imaging subjectlocation in a personal computer or a portable information terminal thattakes in the image by using the shooting location, the imaging subjectorientation, and the imaging subject distance in the Exif header portionof the image data. Thus, it is possible to reduce the burden on the CPU11 of the digital camera 1 at the time of taking the image.

Thus, when the image is displayed in the liquid display part of theoperation displaying unit 16 by the display control unit 307, theimaging subject location, recorded in the Exif header portion of theimage data is displayed along with the image data and other Exif data(such as ISO and exposure). FIG. 14 is a schematic for explaining anexample of shot image data including the imaging subject locationdisplayed on the operation displaying unit 16. As shown in FIG. 14 it ispossible to get an idea of the display of the imaging subject location(longitude, latitude) 14201 calculated from the shooting location, alongwith the image and other Exif data (such as ISO and exposure).

The imaging subject location can use the image data in the Exif headerportion for various applications. For example, the image data in theExif header portion can be used in a map image application to displaythe location information in the map image. When image data is to bedisplayed in the map display application, conventionally, locationcoordinate of a shooting location is recorded in the header portion ofthe image data, therefore, the location displayed on the image data ofthe map image is not the location coordinate of the actual subject,however, it is the location coordinate of the shooting location.

However, in the digital camera 1 according to the present embodiment,the imaging subject location calculated from the shooting location, theimaging subject distance, the imaging subject orientation, the imagingsubject high-angle is recorded in the Exif header portion, therefore,the location displayed in the image data of the map image is in the formof location coordinate of the actual imaging subject.

FIG. 15 is a schematic for explaining an example of the image data ofthe shot image created by the present embodiment, displayed using a mapdisplay application. As shown in FIG. 15, in the Exif header portion ofthe image data of an image 1502, the location recorded is of an imagingsubject 1503, and not a shooting location 1501, therefore, the image1502 is displayed in the image together with the location coordinate ofthe imaging subject 1503.

Thus, because the imaging subject location recorded in the Exif headerportion is calculated from the shooting location, the imaging subjectdistance, the imaging subject orientation, and the imaging subjecthigh-angle, it is possible to ascertain the correct location of theimaging subject even when, the location is such that it is not possibleto get closer to the imaging subject.

It is possible to delete the distance correcting process for reducingthe cost of the entire system. In this case, the system according to thepresent embodiment can comprise only the digital camera 1, the GPSreceiver 2, the electronic Compass 3, and the range finder 5, and thehigh-angle gauge 4 are not required, thus, linking to reduction in thecost of the entire system.

An imaging program executed by the digital camera 1 according to thepresent embodiment is provided by being installed in the ROM 12 inadvance.

The imaging program executable by the digital camera 1 of the presentembodiment can be stored in computer-readable recording media such as acompact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), a flexible disk (FD), a compactdisk-recordable (CD-R), and a digital versatile disk (DVD) in the formof an installable and executable file.

The imaging program executable by the digital camera 1, according to thepresent embodiment, can be stored on a computer connected to networkssuch as the Internet and the likes and can be distributed or downloadedvia a network such as the Internet.

The imaging program executable by the digital camera 1, according to thepresent embodiment, is a module configuration that includes variousparts (such as the information acquiring unit 301, the distancecorrecting unit 302, the imaging-subject-location calculating unit 303,the information recording unit 304, the mode control unit 305, the inputcontrol unit 306, and the display control unit 307). The imaging programexecutable by the digital camera 1, according to the present embodiment,can be read and executed by the hardware such as the CPU 11 via the ROM12, and the respective units mentioned above can be loaded on to andrealized by the main storing device.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to aspecific embodiment for a complete and clear disclosure, the appendedclaims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodyingall modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to oneskilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein setforth.

1. An imaging device comprising: a storing unit configured to storetherein information; a shooting-location acquiring unit that acquires acurrent location of the imaging device from a location detecting devicethat detects the current location, and stores acquired current locationin the storing unit as a shooting location; a distance acquiring unitthat acquires a distance between a subject and the current location froma distance measuring unit that measures the distance, and storesacquired distance in the storing unit as an imaging subject distance; anorientation acquiring unit that acquires an orientation of the subjectwith respect to the current location as a reference from an orientationmeasuring device that measures the orientation, and stores acquiredorientation in the storing unit as an imaging subject orientation; asubject-location calculating unit that calculates an imaging subjectlocation that is a location of the imaging subject, based on theshooting location, the imaging subject distance, and the imaging subjectorientation; an information recording unit that records a shot imagewith calculated imaging subject location; a high-angle acquiring unitthat acquires a high-angle between the current location and the imagingsubject from a high-angle measuring device that measures the high-angle,and stores acquired high-angle in the storing unit as an imaging subjecthigh-angle; a distance correcting unit that calculates a horizontaldistance from the imaging subject distance and the imaging subjecthigh-angle, as a correction distance wherein the subject-locationcalculating unit calculates the imaging subject location by taking thecorrection distance as the imaging subject distance; an operationdisplaying unit that displays the shot image with a plurality of screensfor various settings, and receives an input of a command from a user;and a display control unit that displays the imaging subject location onthe operation displaying unit; a setting-information storing unitconfigured to store therein a recording mode for the imaging subjectlocation; an input control unit that receives a selection of acalculation mode in which the imaging subject location is calculated ora no calculation mode in which the imaging subject location is notcalculated from the operation displaying unit by the user as therecording mode; and a mode control unit that stores selected recordingmode in the setting-information storing unit, wherein when thecalculation mode is stored in the setting-information storing unit, thesubject-location calculating unit calculates the imaging subjectlocation.
 2. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein theinformation recording unit records the shot image in the image storingunit further with the shooting location, the imaging subject distance,the imaging subject orientation, and the imaging subject high-angle. 3.The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein when the no calculationmode is stored in the setting-information storing unit, thesubject-location calculating unit does not calculate the imaging subjectlocation.
 4. The imaging device according to claim 3, wherein when theno calculation mode is stored in the setting-information storing unit,the display control unit displays the shooting location, the imagingsubject distance, the imaging subject orientation, and the imagingsubject high-angle on the operation displaying unit.
 5. The imagingdevice according to claim 1, wherein the subject-location calculatingunit determines whether all of the shooting location, the imagingsubject orientation, and the imaging subject distance are stored in thestoring unit, and when any one of the shooting location, the imagingsubject orientation, and the imaging subject distance is not stored inthe storing unit, the display control unit displays a message indicatinginsufficient information on the operation displaying unit.
 6. Theimaging device according to claim 5, wherein when any one of theshooting location, the imaging subject orientation, and the imagingsubject distance is not stored in the storing unit, the display controlunit further displays a message prompting to select the recording modeon the operation displaying unit, and the mode control unit stores theselected recording mode in the setting-information storing unit.
 7. Theimaging device according to claim 1, wherein the distance correctingunit determines whether all of the imaging subject distance and theimaging subject high-angle are stored in the storing unit, and when anyone of the imaging subject distance and the imaging subject high-angleis not stored in the storing unit, the display control unit displays amessage indicating insufficient information on the operation displayingunit.
 8. The imaging device according to claim 7, wherein when any oneof the imaging subject distance and the imaging subject high-angle isnot stored in the storing unit, the display control unit displays amessage prompting to select the recording mode on the operationdisplaying unit, and the mode control unit sets the selected recordingmode in the setting-information storing unit.